California Classroom Science

A Year in the Life of Two First Year Teachers: Part Seven

Posted: Friday, April 1st, 2011

by Rick Pomeroy, with Sara and Ellen

It has been a busy few months for Sara and Ellen. Both have been enrolled in a masters of arts in education program as a continuation of their teaching credential programs. That program wrapped up on the first weekend in March with Sara and Ellen presenting their research along with nine other first or second year science teachers. Listening to their presentation was inspiring and provided me with lots of ideas for my State of Science Education in California presentation at NSTA in San Francisco. All of the students investigated ways to improve student learning by looking at their own teaching techniques. The overwhelming finding, regardless of subject matter or grade level, was that students have become skilled at answering simple, formulaic problems but almost totally incapable of applying that same knowledge to the same questions when it was asked as part of a word problem or a scenario questions. Whether calculating density, speed, or molar masses, or connecting chemistry concepts to real life examples, the students in their studies struggled tremendously with applying their rote knowledge to problem solving situations. As a way of honoring the effort that Sara and Ellen put into their projects and to give them a little breathing room at the end of their M.A. program, I have included their research questions and a summary of their findings, conclusions, or implications here for you to enjoy.

Ellen’s Research Question: Does the use of chemistry model kits help bridge students’ knowledge of balancing equations to the law of conservation of mass?

Conclusion: Research has shown repeatedly that many students have a hard time understanding scientific concepts well enough so that they are able to make connections across concepts, such as balancing equations and the law of conservation of mass (Bruxvoort et al., 2007, Gamble et al., 2008). Bruxvoort et al. showed that students were able to bridge concepts in chemistry more frequently when they were able to write down their understanding using their own language rather than repeating the academic language taught.

The findings of this research supports both the use of manipulatives to help students visualize chemistry concepts that are otherwise abstract, and the use of quick writes to allow students to use their own language to explain chemistry concepts. I will continue to apply this new information to my teaching by using more manipulatives and increasing the amount of writing that I assign to students. Future inquiry studies should include which writing-prompt questions will elicit deeper student understanding, and which units of instruction in chemistry will benefit from the students’ use of manipulatives.

Sara’s Research Question: How does using real-life examples during chemistry instruction change student perceptions of the importance and relevance of chemistry in their lives?

Conclusion: I was extremely pleased with my research and found it very helpful. I was able to gain a lot of insight into my students’ perspectives of chemistry, which, then influenced my teaching. One of my main goals as a teacher is to get students interested in chemistry and to break down any negative feelings that students bring with them to the classroom. I truly believe that relating chemistry topics to real-world situations is a way to do that, and my research suggested it as well. My findings also corroborated well with the literature, as my students had similar initial perceptions as other researchers have found, and using real-life examples in multiple ways seemed to improve those perceptions.

I was inspired by all of the students who presented their research. Their dedication to their teaching and their commitment to their students encouraged me to think that all is not lost in the battle of science education vs. the world. There are many ways that teachers can impact their students’ learning and careful attention to the needs of their students is the first step to promoting student success.

“These teachers are dedicated and accomplished individuals whose innovative teaching styles prepare our students for 21st century careers and college and develop them into the designers and inventors of the future,” Torlakson said. “They rank among the finest in their profession and also serve as wonderful mentors and role models.”

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By the time this message is posted online, most schools across California will have been in session for at least a month (if not longer, and hat tip to that bunch!). Long enough to get a good sense of who the kids in your classroom are and to get into that groove and momentum of the daily flow of teaching. It’s also very likely that for many of you who weren’t a part of a large grant initiative or in a district that set wheels in motion sooner, this is the first year you will really try to shift instruction to align to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). I’m not going to lie to you, it’s a challenging year – change is hard. Change is even harder when there’s not a playbook to go by. But as someone who has had the very great privilege of walking alongside teachers going through that change for the past two years and being able to glimpse at what this looks like for different demographics across that state, there are three things I hope you will hold on to. These are things I have come to learn will overshadow the challenge: a growth mindset will get you far, one is a very powerful number, and it’s about the kids. Learn More…

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“Science and Social Studies can be taught for the last half hour of the day on Fridays”

– Elementary school principal

Anyone concerned with the teaching of science in elementary school is keenly aware of the problem of time. Kids need to learn to read, and learning to read takes time, nobody disputes that. So Common Core ELA can seem like the enemy of science. This was a big concern to me as I started looking at the curriculum that my district had adopted for Common Core ELA. I’ve been through those years where teachers are learning a new curriculum, and know first-hand how a new curriculum can become the focus of attention- sucking all the air out of the room. Learn More…

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Think back on your own experiences with learning science in school. Were you required to memorize disjointed facts without understanding the concepts?

Science Education Background

In the past, science education focused on rote memorization and learning disjointed ideas. Elementary and secondary students in today’s science classes are fortunate now that science instruction has shifted from students demonstrating what they know to students demonstrating how they are able to apply their knowledge. Science education that reflects the Next Generation Science Standards challenges students to conduct investigations. As students explore phenomena and discrepant events they engage in academic discourse guided by focus questions from their teachers or student generated questions of that arise from analyzing data and creating and revising models that explain natural phenomena. Learn More…

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This month I was fortunate enough to hear about some new topics to share with our entire region. Some of you may access the online or newsletter options, others may attend events in person that are nearer to you. Long time CSTA member and environmental science educator Mike Roa is well known to North Bay Area teachers for his volunteer work sharing events and resources. In this month’s Region 1 updates I am happy to make a few of the options Mike offers available to our region. Learn More…